A Meaningless Number

Fixthedebt.org is trying to do the right thing. Perhaps the problem is that they are bipartisan and don't wish to offend anyone. A recent posting which they are blasting out via Facebook and emails begins thus:
$650 billion.
That's how much the recent fiscal cliff deal will reduce deficits over the next ten years.
It's not a meaningless number, but $650 billion is nowhere near enough to put our national debt on a downward path.
They capitulate before the battle is even joined, because $650 billion is a meaningless number. That comes out to $65 billion per year, trivial since our annual deficit is 18 or 20 times that. But how much of even that pitifully small reduction will we see now, this year, 2013? I thought so. Instead, the president keeps proposing ever more spending.
When we accept the terms of the "argument" such as "meaningful," we've already lost.
Henry Percy is the nom de guerre for a technical writer living in Arizona. He may be reached at saler.50d@gmail.com.(Read Full Post)